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Asbestos Risk in Manufacturing Plants
Asbestos Fibers in Manufacturing Plants… stop worker exposure
Jensen Whitmer, Mesothelioma Center
Asbestos Risk in Manufacturing Plants
Asbestos use inside manufacturing plants was common practice in the United States throughout most of the 20th century. It was incorporated into thousands of products and a lot of industrial machinery was made with asbestos-containing parts.
This combination made working in a manufacturing plant one of the most at-risk occupations for asbestos exposure. Workers who handled asbestos-containing products or performed maintenance work on machinery were not the only ones at risk. If asbestos fibers became airborne for any reason, anyone in the facility could have inhaled airborne asbestos fibers.
Asbestos-Related Disease Among Manufacturing Plant Workers
The inhalation of asbestos fibers has been linked to several lung conditions, including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma. More than 4,000 asbestos-related lung cancers are diagnosed in the U.S. each year and mesothelioma, a rare cancer almost exclusively caused by asbestos, affects close to 3,000 Americans annually.
In a 1987 study involving 6,931 employees from two asbestos cement manufacturing plants in New Orleans, Louisiana, researchers found increased risks for contracting lung cancer and mesothelioma. In fact, a total of 10 mesothelioma cases were discovered between workers from both plants; a large incidence rate considering the rarity of the cancer.
Manufacturing Plants that Utilized Asbestos
Some of the most common manufacturing plants that utilized asbestos included those that manufactured insulation, cement, brake pads, pulp and paper, roofing materials, drywall, and a large variety of other construction materials.
Even residents who live near manufacturing plants where asbestos was used are at risk for asbestos-related disease. Community exposure could have occurred from airborne asbestos escaping the facility or from areas where plants dumped asbestos waste. In many cases, workers at the plant lived nearby and carried home asbestos fibers on their clothing.
The Environmental Working Group has identified 28 former asbestos manufacturing plants as priority locations for community evaluations of asbestos-related disease. It is estimated that these plants received as much as 80 percent of the asbestos mined from Libby, Montana between 1964 and 1990.
Some of the plants include:
Celotex – Edgewater, NJ
W.R. Grace & Company Plant – Santa Ana, CA
Zonolite Company/W.R. Grace – Dearborn, MI
Western Minerals Company Plant – Denver, CO
Vermiculite-Northwest Inc./ W.R. Grace – Spokane, WA
Many of the 28 locations involve W.R. Grace & Company because they were the company that owned and operated the asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mine in Libby. Other major U.S. manufacturers that are noted for incorporating asbestos into their products include:
Celotex Corp.
Johns Manville
Raybestos-Manhattan Co.
Certainteed Corporation
National Gypsum Corporation
Owens Corning/Fibreboard Corp.
Armstrong World Industries
Many of today’s manufacturing plants have removed asbestos from their facilities, but some still manufacture products that contain legal amounts of asbestos. Although exposure at these plants is well monitored and minimal, there is no safe level of asbestos exposure according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
If you suspect asbestos exposure may be occurring at your place of employment, contact the Occupational Safety and Health Administration so they can send a professional out for inspection. If you’ve worked at a plant where asbestos was used or suspect you may have been exposed, make sure to receive annual checkups and tell doctors you may have been exposed to asbestos. Early detection is the key to combating an asbestos-related disease.
Jensen Whitmer has been writing for the Mesothelioma Center for more than three years and he has an interest in spreading awareness about the hazardous effects of asbestos exposure.
Having a thorough understanding of what first aid skills for maintenance workers look like and why they matter is so critical. While the hope is that you never have to use the knowledge, it can be the difference between life and death in an urgent situation.Â
Having a thorough understanding of what first aid skills for maintenance workers look like and why they matter is so critical. While the hope is that you never have to use the knowledge, it can be the difference between life and death in an urgent situation.Â
The force acting on a general purpose relay is near the fulcrum of the arm. With a force guided relay, the force acting on the relay is about as close to the contact point as one can reasonably get.
The force acting on a general purpose relay is near the fulcrum of the arm. With a force guided relay, the force acting on the relay is about as close to the contact point as one can reasonably get.
When we have catastrophic events such as the club fire in RI, the inspection process that allowed code violations to go uncorrected for two years needs to be revisited. Many inspectors view their daily work in a way that results in the low hanging fruit getting picked, but the more difficult to reach fruit on high branches going untouched. When an agency is responsible for inspections for compliance with safety, health, fire and/or environmental standards there needs to be a meaningful quality control or improvement program in place. Citizens or your community deserve no less.
When we have catastrophic events such as the club fire in RI, the inspection process that allowed code violations to go uncorrected for two years needs to be revisited. Many inspectors view their daily work in a way that results in the low hanging fruit getting picked, but the more difficult to reach fruit on high branches going untouched. When an agency is responsible for inspections for compliance with safety, health, fire and/or environmental standards there needs to be a meaningful quality control or improvement program in place. Citizens or your community deserve no less.
Every year, tens of thousands of maintenance workers get injured on the job or develop work-related illnesses. While not all of these incidents can be avoided, many can be with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE for short).
Every year, tens of thousands of maintenance workers get injured on the job or develop work-related illnesses. While not all of these incidents can be avoided, many can be with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE for short).
The answer is, it depends. For example, a traditional cleaner/degreaser, of which there are literally hundreds on the market, generally does an adequate job of cleaning. However – and this is an ongoing problem – the majority of them basically move the contamination from one location to another. The result? This cost of hydrocarbon removal is added to the clean-up process, plus your employees could be at risk of additional from toxins in the cleaner. So, how do you clean, provide a safe product for your employees and contribute to an active pollution prevention program?
The answer is, it depends. For example, a traditional cleaner/degreaser, of which there are literally hundreds on the market, generally does an adequate job of cleaning. However – and this is an ongoing problem – the majority of them basically move the contamination from one location to another. The result? This cost of hydrocarbon removal is added to the clean-up process, plus your employees could be at risk of additional from toxins in the cleaner. So, how do you clean, provide a safe product for your employees and contribute to an active pollution prevention program?
Reactive maintenance is here defined as all maintenance work that was scheduled less than 20 hours before it was executed. It makes sense that there is a strong correlation between safety incidents, injuries and reactive maintenance. In a reactive situation you might not take the time you should to plan and think before you take action. The urgency also call out the so common hero in maintenance crafts people and they take risks they should not take.
Reactive maintenance is here defined as all maintenance work that was scheduled less than 20 hours before it was executed. It makes sense that there is a strong correlation between safety incidents, injuries and reactive maintenance. In a reactive situation you might not take the time you should to plan and think before you take action. The urgency also call out the so common hero in maintenance crafts people and they take risks they should not take.
It’s all about cybersecurity risk management. No matter if your computing systems are in an on-premises data center, out in the cloud, or down in a mine shaft somewhere, protecting your data and intellectual property from those who wish to nefariously benefit from it is your mission. Managing the risk of intrusion requires a strategy, a framework, and a significant list of tactical activities to keep the baddies away.
It’s all about cybersecurity risk management. No matter if your computing systems are in an on-premises data center, out in the cloud, or down in a mine shaft somewhere, protecting your data and intellectual property from those who wish to nefariously benefit from it is your mission. Managing the risk of intrusion requires a strategy, a framework, and a significant list of tactical activities to keep the baddies away.
